Filter assemblies have been employed in a variety of applications including hydraulic systems, fuel systems and engine lubrication systems. High pressure hydraulic systems, for example, require long component life and high performance standards. To accomplish the foregoing, hydraulic components are built with tight tolerances, which increase sensitivity to contamination. Filter assemblies can be used to filter out ingressed contamination before the contamination jams a valve or scores a cylinder, to block pump generated debris before it reaches servo and proportional valves in the hydraulic systems, etc.
The filter assemblies can include a filtration media such as a wire reinforced pleated filtration media. The wire reinforcement prevents the pleats from bunching, prevents media migration, and maintains media efficiency. By preventing the pleats from bunching, for example, the wire reinforcement prevent the effective surface area of the filter from being reduced and prevents excessive pressure drop.